Contingencies
The Company is party to litigation and other legal or regulatory proceedings that arise in the normal course of the Company's business operations, the outcomes of which are subject to significant uncertainty, including product warranty and liability claims, contract disputes and environmental, asbestos, intellectual property, employment and other matters. The Company’s products are used in a variety of industrial, commercial and residential applications that subject the Company to claims that the use of its products is alleged to have resulted in injury, death or other damage. Many of these matters will only be resolved when one or more future events occur or fail to occur. Management conducts regular reviews, including updates from legal counsel, to assess the need for accounting recognition or disclosure of these contingencies, and such assessment inherently involves an exercise in judgment. The Company accrues for exposures to the extent that losses are deemed probable and are reasonably estimable. The Company does not currently believe that the outcome of any of these proceedings individually or collectively will have a material effect on the Company's financial position, results of operations or its cash flows.
The Company is subject to federal, state and local environmental protection laws and regulations with respect to our business operations and is operating in compliance with, or taking action aimed at helping ensure compliance with, these laws and regulations. The Company’s threshold for disclosing environmental legal proceedings involving a government authority where potential monetary sanctions are involved is $1 million.
The most significant legal proceedings involving the Company are described below.
One of the Company's subsidiaries acquired in 2007 is subject to numerous claims filed in various jurisdictions relating to certain sub-fractional motors that were primarily manufactured through 2004 and that were included as components of residential and commercial ventilation units manufactured and sold in high volumes by a third party. These ventilation units are subject to product safety requirements and other potential regulation of their performance by government agencies such as the US Consumer Product Safety Commission (“CPSC”). The claims generally allege that the ventilation units were the cause of fires. The Company has recorded an estimated liability for incurred claims. Based on the current facts, the Company cannot assure that these claims, individually or in the aggregate, will not have a material adverse effect on its subsidiary's financial condition. The Company's subsidiary cannot reasonably predict the outcome of these claims, the nature or extent of any CPSC or other remedial actions, if any, that the Company's subsidiary may need to undertake with respect to motors that remain in the field, or the costs that may be incurred, some of which could be significant.
The Company recognizes the cost associated with its standard warranty on its products at the time of sale. The amount recognized is based on historical experience. The following is a reconciliation of the changes in accrued warranty costs for 2025 and 2024:
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | December 31, 2025 | | December 31, 2024 |
| Beginning Balance | | $ | 33.4 | | | $ | 34.5 | |
| Less: Payments | | 28.8 | | | 21.9 | |
| Provisions | | 22.2 | | | 21.5 | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
| Translation Adjustments | | 3.8 | | | (0.7) | |
| Ending Balance | | $ | 30.6 | | | $ | 33.4 | |
These liabilities are included in Other Accrued Expenses and Other Noncurrent Liabilities on the Consolidated Balance Sheets.